First Contact with 1st LT Suzumiya Haruhi
by Khu
Summary: The Insurrection has been going on for a while. 1st LT Suzumiya Haruhi is bored fighting the same old things, over and over again. Then, a chance for her squad dubbed the SOS Squad will see them on their first alien contact...
1. Prologue

_Prologue_

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**SPIRIT OF FIRE, orbiting Reach, Epsilon Eridanus System  
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**September 8th, 2530**

**Private First Class "Kyon" - SOS Squad**

Pfft. Another day, another Haruhi rant. We were in the mess hall, where most of the marines gathered daily for meals, talk, and basically anything of general interest. Haruhi had somehow pulled some strings, and managed to get us a secluded spot, just a little alcove compared to the large cavern of the rest of the hall.

"This sucks! All we do is fight the same boring old Inssurectionists. We're not even getting to fight those new guys, what are they called?" Suzumiya sighed irritably, her non regulation ponytail bouncing up and down behind her. The Captain, Cutter, had tried to get her to cut it once, but she'd simply glared at him everywhere she went. You could have even heard his slightly shaken voice over the PA.

To be frank, that ponytail IS awesome, but how the hell does she manage to fit it in her helmet when we're dropping feet first into hell? Hmph, like I'd ever know. That girl is so damn...TOUCHY. The nearest I'd ever been to her is a hand on her shoulder, and THAT was when she was emotionally distressed. She's got brains and looks though, I'll give you that. It's just that she hardly ever uses them. The brains, I'm talking about. Her looks are used all the time. That luscious brown hair and amber eyes... you can tell they work, usually on me, because I have to do the grunt labour work, and that's basically the only way she can get me to do anything apart from whacking me with the butt of her rifle over the head a few times.

I glanced around the room. SGT Itsuki Koizumi was sitting directly opposite me. His fake smile seemed glued to his face again. I wondered why he always smiled. As far as I knew, he hadn't had any horrific missions, but something told me he was hiding something. He seemed as secretive as one of those ONI spooks. He was a handsome, lean man. One of those guys the girls might fawn after. I could imagine his hair, without the buzz cut, would attract quite a few lustful eyes.

Corporal Nagato Yuki sat beside me, face impassive. She hardly showed any emotion at all. You were lucky to even get a smile out of her. She got orders, and she followed them to the letter. You had to be really precise with her. Not to mention her aim is really precise too. Her short hair, closely cropped, was a wispy brown. She was even more mysterious than Koizumi.

Lance Corporal Asahina Mikuru was sitting, shaking a bit, next to Koizumi. She always seemed so AFRAID someone was going to suddenly drop, and she'd be unable to help them. Heh, every time we'd been out on the field, she'd manage to patch us up alright. She would always be focused solely on us, which could sometimes be a problem when there's about 30 different shooters firing at you and she's tending to a squadmate out in the open. She's hopeless at everything else though. She can't aim as well as any of us, and the report of the gun seems to really unnerve her when she's firing. She gets picked on by Haruhi a lot. Luckily Haruhi has the sense not to on the field, or we'd have a whiny beacon wherever we go.

And then there's me. Private First Class "Kyon". People don't bother with my real name. They just call me Kyon, since EVERYONE ELSE calls me Kyon. It gets really annoying sometimes. Hell, the First Class is only there because Haruhi called in a few favours again (she said she didn't want a total FNG in her squad, even if she HAD known me since North High.) I'm usually the one that does all the menial labour, the radio, you name it, I lug it. Haruhi picks on me a lot too, but I just give a cynical answer. She doesn't seem to mind that much. I wonder why she doesn't though, because whenever Mikuru tries any smartass answer I've told her to say she immediately gets whacked.

I see Haruhi glaring at me. She must want to know who the 'new guys' are called.

"The Covenant. From what I heard, they seem to be a conglomerate of races. Could be simply men gone stark raving mad." I shrugged. I had to give an alternate answer, or Haruhi would go off her rocker. She'd be steaming at the thought that she could be headlocking an alien and telling it to be her pet, while in reality she was hanging out with her squad, twiddling her thumbs.

"Hmph. I bet they are aliens. And I bet they have four mandibles, and lots and lots of teeth, and they wear armour, and they have super high tech ray guns and stuff!" Damn. So I hadn't taken her mind off the alien theory. Oh well. Time to listen to Haruhi rant and answer whenever she stops...

"ALL HANDS, MOVE TO POSITIONS FOR SLIPSPACE TRAVEL, INITATING SHAW-FUJIKAWA DRIVE IN 5 MINUTES." An announcement blared over the PA.

"What? I never heard anything about-" Haruhi was cut off by Koizumi. "Never mind that, you heard the good Captain, now get to your pods. ODST's, OOHRAH!"

"OOHRAH!" We replied in unison as our well trained boots made our way to our squad's HEV docking bay.


	2. Ridin' It ODST Style

_Chapter 1: Ridin' It ODST Style  
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**SPIRIT OF FIRE, initiating slipspace rupture, Epsilon Eridanus System  
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**September 8th, 2530**

**Private First Class "Kyon" - SOS Squad**

I adjusted my helmet on my head, and cleared the visor. I strapped on my airtight suit, made sure that integrity was 100%, before strapping myself into my HEV. Mikuru was trembling a bit, but knew procedure; Koizumi was scanning the weapon racks, Haruhi was already strapped in and waiting impatiently, and Nagato had already closed her pod's cover. As I was starting diagnostics for slipspace travel, I felt a nudge on my helmet. I looked up. Koizumi handed me a M7S SMG, and a M6C SOCOM. "Just in case," he smiled, before returning to his pod, MA5B and M6C SOCOM holstered. Mikuru slowly closed her hatch; Koizumi firmly closed his; and I literally slammed mine onto my feet.

"OW, AUGH!" I howled as my poor feet were throbbing with pain. The displays came on at that time, and I could hear their voices crackling through my radio.

"NIIIIIIIIIIIIICE, KYON." I could hear Haruhi's smug laughter.

"S-SHADDAP." My face was burning with embarrassment. Koizumi was gently laughing along too. Geez, that suck up.

My helmet software started, bringing the HUD to life, and my visor took on an ODST's distinctive silvery blue. I gripped the the handles. Another announcement was called. "INITATING SLIPSPACE TRAVEL, IN 3, 2, 1-"

Immediately there was a rush of air. All pods were put into cryogenic conditions; we all were sleeping before we knew it.

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**SPIRIT OF FIRE, Decelerating from slipspace, Epsilon Indi System**

**January 20th, 2531**

**Private First Class "Kyon" - SOS Squad**

I suddenly came to with a heaving cough. I quickly deactivated my helmet's visor, letting the spittle and substance in my mouth from cryosleep splatter across the hatch. It was so much easier to clean the hatch, than my helmet. I had learned that from many hard times trying to clean my visor of dirt.

The displays flickered back on. Haruhi's face, visor deactivated was on my left; Koizumi's on my right.

"Squad, sound off!"

"SGT Koizumi, ma'am!"

"Corporal Nagato, ma'am."

"L-Lance Corporal Asahina, ma'am!"

"Private First Class -" A rumble suddenly rocked the ship as it decelerated - "ma'am!"

"Great, everyone's up. Hang on squad, let me see what's happening around the ship."

I twiddled my thumbs around the handles. I once again ran diagnostics on my helmet software, made sure my VISR was working correctly, and then shut my helmet off to save power. The rest of the squad were resting too; Koizumi was enjoying a chocolate bar he'd manage to grab in the rush to the HEV's.

"Looks like we got new orders, SOS Squad!" Haruhi sounded ecstatic. "We're going in first to secure a possible LZ for more troops, then moving up to establish Alpha Base. It's a covert insertion, if you can call dropping from the sky into a forest 'covert'. Once we've secured that area, we move to Rally point Alpha; some marines will follow us up in the forest. That's all I've received so far, but we'll be regrouping with other ODST squads at Alpha. Any questions?"

"When are we leaving?" I asked.

Haruhi paused for a while before she answered. "When it's night planetside. That's in about half an hour or so, according to the good Captain."

"Alright, time to get out of the junk." I unlatched my HEV hatch, and crawled out. I watched the others coming out of their cryosleeps. Haruhi looked slightly dishevelled; still stunning, even in the ODST body suit...but Mikuru was OBVIOUSLY better looking now...right? Anyway, Haruhi ordered us to each take M7S, except obviously for Nagato, who's sniping skills were awesome to behold. When you see about 20 tango's fall in quick succession, with only a clip from the rifle used, you will learn what I mean. I grabbed a few extra clips for each weapon; sounded like a long night. Mikuru restocked on biofoam and injectors while Koizumi initiated a radio check on the squad. Not soon after our preparations, we were strapped back into our HEV's. As the airlock closed and the the hatch beneath us opened to a world of green and yellow, the displays once again flickered to life.

"SOS Squad, starting orbital drop in 3-"

I gripped the handles. Haruhi's and Koizumi's visors activated and once again became distinctively silvery grey.

"2-"

I could hear in my mind Mikuru whimpering.

"1-"

And we were away.


	3. Landfall

_Chapter 2: Landfall  
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**HEV Serial TY-VMFRW001, Entering Harvest Stratosphere, Epsilon Indi System  
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**January 20th, 2531  
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**Private First Class "Kyon" - SOS Squad**

The HEV shook violently. The heat shielding now disengaged; _3,2, 1!_ I shut my eyes as the parachutes engaged, and there was a giant jolt, even though I was strapped in. I could see outside the light of fires; countless crops destroyed, trees burning, and finally, our drop zone. The pod dropped with a solid thud. Good. At least I wouldn't have to scrabble around to try and keep my footing. I quickly unstrapped myself, readied my M7S, and kicked open the hatch, my visor set to VISR mode and ready to engage. The firefight had already begun. I stepped back just in time as a overheated plasma charge buzzed past. I followed the trail and quickly dispatched the stocky, triangular shaped dissident. All I knew was to kill anything that didn't look like my squad. My visor quickly lit up all the rest of the aliens in my field of view as red; my squad were green. I could see Haruhi visibly struggling with a giant gorilla beast thing; she forced it off her, whipped out her M6C Socom and quickly shot it 3 times in the head. If something like that needed TRIPLE tapping, I'm pretty sure she knew how dangerous it was. Training took over from curiosity...for now. Koizumi was pinned down by a sniper of some sort up in a tree; I quickly looked up, found it, and watched it fall out once I'd put a quick 3 round burst in its chest.I ducked as something blue whizzed over my head; I wondered at it for a while, but dived away from it anyway, just in case it was an explosive. Sure enough, it exploded into a plume of blue; I shifted my fire zone to where it had come from; a blue armoured alien had no idea where I'd went. Still lying prone, I fired another 3 round burst. Something flared around it; it didn't go down, but I'd got it's attention. Quickly standing up and taking cover behind my pod, I flicked my M7S from burst to full auto; I let the alien have it, and soon it fell back, purple blood leaking from its bullet wounds. As I reloaded, Haruhi was stuck into another little critter; it looked like she was trying to restrain it. Nagato had now perched herself in a nearby tree; she soon dispatched another couple that looked the same as the one I had just downed; she then leaped down upon the ground onto the face of another gorilla type alien, letting her boot smack firmly into his cranium, before killing it with her sniper rifle. Making sure it was dead with another shot, she reloaded. 4 rounds - 4 kills. As fast as the battle had started, it was now over.

Mikuru's pod was still sealed. I could hear her whimpering over the radio. Making sure that the firefight was all over, Haruhi gave me a nod as she realised what I would do. I tapped on her pod. "Oh come on, it's just a bit of -AUGH!" I mock fell to the ground, making sure there was a thump. Asahina squealed, and quickly smashed open her pod. As she saw me lying there under her hatch throughly hurt, she cowered.

"Oh no..." she whimpered just as I dusted myself off.

"Eh, I'm fine. I survived this...firefight, now we just gotta examine our enemy." I grabbed the sniper's corpse and dragged it unceremoniously into the middle of the clearing. Haruhi brought over the live little alien which she had beat into submission, and Koizumi had my help to drag one of the muscular gorillas and the lithe armour clad alien I had killed.

"Well, what's this? It's so CUUUUUUTE!" Haruhi still had the critter around its neck, I think. It was at least struggling for breath. She ripped off its armour. The whole triangular back was ripped off; part of its head got ripped; and now it was simply naked, lying face down. It was gasping for breath; soon enough, it stopped moving.

"Oh. Woops..."

"I see you still have your perverted ways, Leftenant." I smirked.

"Shuddup Private. That's an order."

I kept quiet for a while, then piped up again. "Soo...why didn't FLEETCOM tell us about these?"

"They did, remember. We just didn't know what exactly we were up against. Keep your video records of this. We'll need them for analysis later. I found these gorilla guys should be attacked at long range. Their aim sucks, and even if they look cuddly, they're STRONG. AND ANGRY." With all our visors deactivated, I could see Haruhi's exaggerated nodding. 'Koizumi, report!"

"Ma'am. It seems that these bird like creatures are their primary sharpshooters. Their aim is steady; it may be slightly off at first though, so best to kill them before they see you. Some also carry shields of some sort; aim for the notch where they have their weapon, and you should be fine."

"Nagato?"

"Nothing. My rifle can still kill anything within one shot to the head."

"And finally, Kyon?"

"Mikuru really needs to take part in battles."

"It's not my fault! I just-" Mikuru interjected, but Haruhi cut her off. "Duly noted. Carry on."

"Oh, well, the little guys seem to come in numbers, like they're the cannon fodder. The armoured ones have some sort of shielding; it takes a while, but it eventually goes down. I recommend following up with a 3 round burst to the head, or simply pump it full of lead."

"Alright then." Haruhi slammed in a fresh clip to her SMG. Setting an IR beacon on the ground she radioed back to Spirit of Fire: "Send down the bot party." Turning back to local squad channel, she proclaimed, "Squad, let's move out!" Following, the rest of the squad reloaded; visors reengaged in VISR mode, they then proceeded in a V formation after Haruhi taking point; treading carefully and silently as one being. All that could be seen were slight shadows flitting through the night, a slight flash from a visor, and the full moon's reflected light filtering through the alpine forest boughs.


	4. Liquid Fire

_Chapter 3: Liquid Fire  
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**Utgard Fields, Outside Utgard, Harvest  
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**January 20th, 2531**

**MISSION CLOCK: 00:15:30  
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**Private First Class "Kyon" - SOS Squad**

As we emerged from the forest out into the wheat fields, there was a sound above us. Haruhi motioned for us to get down into the shadows of the trees. We all lay there until the sound faded away. Haruhi started to stand, before pressing herself against the ground again. "Patrol. Dead ahead to the north. Nagato, get up in a tree, give us cover; Koizumi, hide here; Mikuru don't get in the crossfire PLEASE; Kyon, you're with me." With that, she turned towards the patrol, got onto her feet, still crouching, and started walking quickly on a tangent from them.

I followed Haruhi. Our visors lit them up in red. "2 gorillas, 5 little critters and 3 armoured ones," I reported. Haruhi nodded once. "Nagato, sitrep."

"Patrol have not noticed either of you. Suggest you stay put until they pass, then hit them from their flank."

"Roger. Nagato, when I give the signal, take your shots."

"Affirmative."

Tense moments passed. I could hear my own breathing; it sounded terribly loud in the night. The patrol was leisurely strolling towards the forest. One stopped the section. He promptly turned towards us, took off some of his armour, unzipped his leggings and-

"Auuuuuuuuuu-" Haruhi hissed, turning away in disgust. I felt the alien's pain. I had had to do that many times. I lifted my SMG to my shoulder, stock firmly placed, and looked through the sights. Hmm, if I managed to neuter an alien, would that count as a lot more kills? Meanwhile, the sound of alien excretory liquid was still going; the smell was wafting this way with the wind. I was glad that the helmet had filters.

"Oh my god, I can't take much more of this. Nagato, hit any one of them except the one...you know which one I'm talking about. Leave him to me. I'll make sure I rough him up good. Maybe dress him up a little for that DISGRACEFUL behaviour." Haruhi whispered.

"On my mark. Mark!"

BAM. And the dirt is gone, I thought. BAM. BAM. BAM. 4 fell, blood splurting from their throats; the one excreting panicked; even MORE started gushing out. Wow. Maybe he can't put his armour back on cos it'll short circuit it. Damn am I glad for good old kevlar weaving. I took out the rest of the section; Koizumi lent a hand and Haruhi immediately headed for the pissing one who looked around frantically; he hadn't had the sense to draw his weapon? Haruhi immediately thwacked him over the head, andsent him crashing to the ground.

"HOW DARE YOU-" SMACK! "SHOW THAT KIND OF-" THUD! I think something cracked there, Haruhi. "...THING, TO A FEMALE!" She ended it with a swift and justly kick to the groin. The alien cried out in anguish. Man, I felt that pain too. Haruhi's kicks were HAAAAAAAAAAAAARSH. it burned whenever I peed for 2 weeks after she had kicked me there.

The squad were now all assembled around the shaking alien, obviously very intimidated by this fierce human. I could see that Koizumi was visorpalming; Mikuru was shaking as if it had hurt her too; and Nagato was still expressionless, rifle pointed loosely at the ground. I noticed something odd. "Hey, Haruhi, it DOES have 4 mandibles. And a...well, plasma gun. AND high tech armour! What a coincidence!" I tried to keep the atmosphere light; I wasn't helping. Haruhi brought the thoroughly distressed alien to its feet. "I'm going to make you wish you hadn't-"

PSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSH. I looked at Haruhi's boots; they were now slick and shiny.

"Oh that does it." Haruhi promptly snapped its neck. It fell lifelessly to the ground.

"You know, Haruhi..." I shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. My hands and SMG were unconsciously protecting my groin. "We could have...uh... you know...NOT killed him and brought him in?"

Haruhi harrumphed. "Not after that display." She turned back towards the fields. "Come on; half a klick more, and we're at the rally point." She switched to planetside channel. "Delta, this is SOS. Over."

"SOS, this is Delta. Over."

"Delta, this is SOS. Confirm Loc and approximate distance from Alpha. Over."

"SOS, this is Delta. We're there. Bravo is with us. Waiting on you, Echo and Foxtrot. Over."

"Delta, this is SOS. Roger. Out."

Haruhi turned towards us. "Aight, let's get to that checkpoint."

Once they arrived, the field was illumintaed by the moon. There was a light breeze rustling the wheat heads.

"Sergeant, do you smell that?" Haruhi's weapon was up and scanning.

"Yeah. A cigar." Koizumi replied, slowly lowering his MA5B.

"Hoho, you caught us out, ~nyoro. Who the hell was smoking before and got the smoke onto their suit, dammit?!"

2nd LT Tsuruya came up from her prone position, and motioned for the others to stand. She deactivated her visor. "The others haven't arrived yet. I'm getting a bit worried...they haven't answered our hails either." Haruhi noticed one ODST smoking a cigar. She frowned, but made no comment.

"I'll try calling them." She once again went to planetside channel. "Echo Squad, this is SOS. Over."

Silence.

Then -

"IT'S A FUCKING TRAP! GET THE FU-"

An enormous explosion erupted just behind SOS squad. I was thrown backwards, and tumbled over and over in the dirt, knocked my head against a sharp rock, and was abruptly knocked out.


	5. Ardour

_Chapter 4: Ardour  
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**Utgard Fields, Rally Point Alpha, Outside Utgard, Harvest  
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**January 20th, 2531**

**MISSION CLOCK: 00:30:55  
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**Private First Class "Kyon" - SOS Squad**

Dragging. Scuffle. I raised my head. My SMG was still in my hands. I tapped my would be rescuer on the shoulder. "I'm fine now. How long I've been out?"

Haruhi deactivated her visor, showing her worried face. She dusted me down, checked for plasma burns, suit integrity, and finally wiped my face with her hand. I raised an eyebrow. That last bit felt more like a caress than to get the grime out of my eyes. No matter.

"15 mintues. Pelicans inbound, ETA 3 minutes. We need to hold out till then. We're dug in pretty well; enough cover for all of us. Come on." She ducked and weaved through the battlefield, eventually regrouping with our squad. As I crouched in the crater from a plasma mortar shell, Koizumi was busy keeping suppressive fire. Nagato's rifle was like clockwork., all shots taking at least 2 enemies down. However, it didn't seem to be enough; the wave wouldn't stop. I quickly joined Koizumi in killing the ones that got too close for comfort. Mikuru was too busy cowering; Haruhi was attempting to acquire fire support.

"Zero Alpha, request air support, danger close!"

"Roger. Hornets already dispatched. At your six...now."

Not soon afterwards, machineguns from above cut a swathe in the oncoming Covenant forces. The ODST's gave a resounding OOHRAH! and began their push back to the edge of the LZ. Light Covenant vehicles were starting to make their presence known; zipping around hovering just above the ground, their cannons pinned many ODST's down. They were easy to overbalance however, even damaging one of its wings caused it to list towards that side, and allowed for greater damage to the actual driver. The Covenant kept swarming in though; despite the Hornets, there were just too many, and now they had to dogfight with Covenant fliers in the air, leaving the ground forces with no supporting fire.

"EVAC 2 MINUTES! HOLD THE LINE!" Haruhi screamed over the radio, bolstering our morale. Plenty of ODST's already had plasma burns; some had been rendered unconscious. Mikuru was kept busy trying to keep everyone in fighting shape; Koizumi was attempting to lay a trap; Tsuruya was down, unconscious; Haruhi was lobbing over grenades, both human and alien, to great effect. They often started chain reactions; causing Koizumi to curse internally, but smile outwardly, as his own mines exploded as well. "Well done, Leftenant."

"Thank you Sergeant." Haruhi puffed her chest out, before ducking down again to get out of plasma fire. I looked over the battlefield; the shit was hitting the fan. Then -

"GET DOWN! PLASMA MORTARS!" Large armoured Covenant tanks started shelling our position. "WE NEEDA TAKE OUT THAT ARTILLERY!" I clamoured over the radio. "DO WE HAVE ANY HEAVY WEAPONS!" Koizumi handed me a SPNKR Rocket Launcher. "Thanks, Koizumi. I'm going out there." I shifted the rocket launcher into place on my back and took up my SMG again. "Wait what? Kyon, no, it's too dangerous!" Haruhi tugged on my arm. "As your superior, I order you to stay here."

"But Haruhi, if those keep up, we'll ALL die." I gripped her hand fiercely, preparing to leave.

"But I don't want you to die before I do."

Wha?! Was this- noooo, it couldn't be. It couldn't be what I thought it was, cos that's all it probably was! Caring, not damn- shit, not my emotions again. I buried them. Now was the time for action.

"I'll be back, Leftenant." This time Haruhi tugged me down even harder. Soon we were a tangle of arms and armour.

"No. You are not going ANYWHERE." This was Haruhi's dangerous voice. I'd been on the receiving end of plenty of her punches when I'd defied her when she was like this. Those were just being cheeky. Now it was life and death.

"Leftenant, you can court martial me if we get out of this alive." I ripped myself out of Haruhi's embrace.

"Then I'll simply have to come with you!"

"NO, Leftenant. You are the main reason why this squad was formed in the first place; you HAVE TO SURVIVE." Pushing her back down into the crater, I looked forward, at my adversaries. Green bolts. Blue fire. Perfect.

With a primal roar, I launched myself at my foes.

"NOO KYON! YOU'LL DIE!" Haruhi was left in my dust, watching helplessly as I sped off to eat plasma.

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Breathing. Skidding. The report of rifles. Rat-att-att-att-att of machineguns. The FWOOSH of missiles from above.

Left, right, burst. Drop, roll, launch off again.

Everything else had gone now. It was just me, my weapons, and the enemy. Impossible odds? Probably. But not right now.

Burst. Burst. Burst. Blood exploded around me. Kick, punch, burst. Mechanical. Efficient. Desperate.

The tanks weren't more than 20 metres away. I readied my rocket launcher. FWOOSH. One missile gone. Smash a puny alien's head in with the back. Duck as a sniper rifle round snapped through 3 aliens' necks.

Aim. Pull the trigger. FWOOSH. Another away. 2 down. Reload. Swing back to SMG.

Running.

Instincts had completely taken over. By then I should have been clinically dead, but I was still going. Amazing.

Burst. Burst. Prime a grenade. Throw. Kick away a monkey like alien. Destroy its head. Move on.

Heavy weaponry was certainly a good choice at a time like this. 3rd tank, down. Return to squad.

Panting. Blood dripping everywhere. Automatic biofoam injectors nearly out.

Must get back...to LZ.

"Come.... on, time...to leave Private...." Haruhi's voice came in at a daze. But that made my eyes snap open. It was visible in my HUD; vital signs were now almost normal; adrenaline rushed through me. It was time to haul ass.

My SMG was up and flashing; 2 clips left. As I strafed back towards the LZ, I realised I was moving too slow. I ditched the rocket launcher, letting it fall off my back, and feeling the almost instant relief, and gain of speed. Immediately I sprinted for the Pelican. I grabbed onto the Pelican, swung myself around, and kept on firing. My ears were deaf; nothing mattered except making the enemy die.

At last we were away.

I stood, shakily, 1 solitary round left in the chamber of my SMG.

I turned, and saluted Haruhi.

"I told you I'd return...ma'am."

I disengaged my visor, and promptly collapsed. Haruhi caught me just in time. "Mikuru, hurry!"

I felt my armour being stripped off, bare skin being exposed to the cold conditioned air of the Pelican. I could feel the biofoam hardening; blood still seeping out of scorching plasma wounds. Puffy. But I did not care for it. I lay in Haruhi's lap, and let Mikuru dress my wounds. "Leftenant, Private First Class -" I coughed and splattered blood across the ceiling - "Reporting for duty."

Her eyes widened, as I fell slack.

* * *

**Pelican Foxtrot 214, Hangar, Spirit of Fire**

**January 20th, 2531**

**1st Lieutenant Suzumiya Haruhi - SOS Squad**

I watched helplessly as Kyon sacrificed himself. Dammit Kyon, I told you to always damn well follow my orders. But nooo, you had to defy me...

I again, watched helplessly, as he lay, dying, in my arms. Shit Kyon, you're not dying on me. I won't ALLOW you to die on me. I WILL court martial you in the afterlife if you die on me.

Mikuru was working as fast as she could. Blood was leaking from his body; I could see some broken bones and a few severe burns. The other wounds were already healing; but he didn't know that. His mind was still in a state of mortal pain; his body was in a wrecked, but salvageable state.

"Turn him face up, please."

I obliged, allowing Mikuru access to the wounds on his stomach. Dammit Kyon I KNEW you were going to die...that was suicidal. Why can't you ever just be selfish for once! WHY! Why can't you think of yourself for once! Why does it always have to be for others! Even when you're bored you do stuff for me. Even though I think that's more out of boredom than self sacrifice, why can't you just be more...human?! Why aren't you afraid of dying for your friends?! Why...why...

As the Pelican docked, I rushed out the hatch to the hospital, cradling Kyon in my arms. I am NOT letting him die. I could feel a faint pulse. I put him down on a bed, and let the doctors take care of him. Taking off my helmet, I wiped the grime off my face. I watched anxiously as he was being fussed over by medical staff.

If...no, WHEN Kyon wakes up, I'll present to him nicely. Heh. I have a feeling he likes ponytails. Maybe something a bit flaunting? Might be too much for his poor body though. Although I'm sure the good Captain won't object to me wearing my old North High uniform... not after the hair regulation incident. Koizumi then put a hand on my shoulder. I flicked it off.

"You should take a shower, Suzumiya-san." He had returned to the informal way of speech. OUR way of speech. The SOS Brigade. How long ago was that... I sighed.

"You're right." I turned, and sauntered back to my quarters. I took a nice long shower. That op went FUBAR. Totally. I let the water wash over me, letting it caress my body. Dammit Kyon, if only...no. We're professionals. Afterwards, I redressed in BDU's. Our suits would need to be replaced, obviously; they had sustained more alien fire than ever. The data would be useful to the techs. I hopped onto the computer, accessed the network, and checked the mission report. 2 dead, 1 seriously wounded...I guess Kyon was right. He had saved a whole lot of lives. That didn't make him any less stupider though. Stupid, retarded, selfless, cute...shit, wrong course of mental images here. I refocused on the report. Kyon would be getting a medal. A Purple Heart, or a Victoria Cross, his pick. Hmph. I guess he did deserve to be able to pick either British or American. He'd probably take the British side of things though. More as novelty, than actual allegience to British people. Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid Kyon. He didn't need to...well, he did, but... was it only to prove he was a hero to me? Pfft. In my eyes, he already was. Wait, what am I saying, he's stupid and retarded. A mule. That's all. Right?


	6. Recuperation

**Hospital, Spirit of Fire**

**January 23rd, 2531**

**1st Lieutenant Suzumiya Haruhi - SOS Squad**

I sat, giving silent vigil to Kyon, resting in his pristine white bed. His burns had mostly healed; but he was still quite out of it. I stroked his hair away from his face, gently brushing his forehead. Geez, look at me being all mushy over a retard. I squeezed his hand with my other. He'll come through. He must have felt it though, because his eyes are fluttering.

I looked around cautiously. No one was in the room; everyone was busy tending to other wounds from the main Marine assault. We had after all managed to secure several LZ's, and the main forces were securing a groundside base now. I shifted my gaze back to Kyon. I guess one kiss couldn't hurt...

**Hospital, Spirit of Fire**

**January 23rd, 2531**

**Private First Class "Kyon" - SOS Squad**

My eyes opened completely. For a moment, I was a bit disoriented. I was on my side. My whole body was aching. Only afterwards I realised that Haruhi's face was WAY too close to mine.

"HEY!" She jerked back at my exclamation, a blush creeping to her delicate features. Maybe I shouldn't have called out. Oh whatever, she was probably going to headbutt me or something. She quickly started verbally assaulting me now.

"Dammit, Kyon! Why did you go and disobey orders like that! I told you not to go out there!"

Oh whatever. I feigned sleep again.

"KYO-" She stopped. I opened my eyes just a crack. She seemed indecisive and confused. What was this side of Haruhi? She seemed to be trying to fight herself. She blushed, and started talking to herself. Geez. What's so hard?

Eventually she seemed to come to a decision. She began leaning in, eyes determined. She gently kissed me. I decided to fuck around with my LT for a bit. Wasn't like I would get another chance at this. I slipped the tongue. Her blush immediately heightened and she broke away for a bit. She made sure I was still sleeping. To add to the effect I started whispering. She leaned in towards my mouth and realised what I was saying. "Haruhi..." She immediately cupped her hands to her face. Wow. I've got her on the defence. I then "woke up".

"Huh?" I turned onto my back and looked around. "Oh, Haruhi. What are you still doing here?"

"NOTHING!" She quickly turned around, attempting to look pissed. Well, she probably WAS pissed. She'd missed out on a perfectly good French kiss. Hahaha. Blocked, bitch.

"Whatcha still doing here anyway? Nyoron~" the 2LT decided to walk in at that point. She only had burns on her chest and arms, and could still walk around properly.

"Just checking on my Squad, that's all." Haruhi swiftly stood up and left the room. Tsuruya raised an eyebrow. Then she sat down next to my bed.

"Any idea when you'll be combat effective again?"

"Days, weeks, I dunno. I hope at the very least 3 days."

"I see. Well at least you're not one of the fallen buddy. Haruhi's right hand wouldn't have much action then~"

"...what?"

"Nothing~"

The 2nd LT skipped out of the room, obviously feeling extremely pleased with herself.

I shook my head. Did she mean what I think she meant? I don't think so, Haruhi wouldn't do that over me.

Definitely, given how she treats me.


End file.
